Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-04-23
Two Ways Of Farming.

Some farmers have had excellent sue
cess planting their crops on paper,
while others haye made Il most deplora
BILE failure planting their crops III the
dirt. Some men farm out in rural
districts, while others farm on paper.
lam one OF the latter class OF farmers,
and Tvs had more money and exper-
fenced less worry farming on paper
than have in the dirt. When ! farm
in the dirt the rains and drouth always
play high hand in the success or fail
ure OF my crop, but when / farm on a
sheet OF foolscap paper, with pencil for
a plow, the rains or drouth don effect
my crop any more than splitting in the
ocean, would change the ebb or tlow Of
its tide.
February is the proper month in the
year to farm on paper, because 1t Is too
cold and wet to farm in the dirt. | can
set down by a big warm fire OF cold
wet day in February, take sheet OF
ioolscap paper and tive-cent lead pen
Gil and make more clear money farm
ing in one day than any man in the
county can make farming on 500 acres
of the best land in one whole year.
Last February q year ago, farmed one
whole day on paper, using a pencil for
plow, and then spent the balance OF
the year farming in the dirt. Christ
mas | compared notes, and to my sur
prise | found had made three dollars
per acre on my paper farm where | had
lost two dollars per acre. On paper
farm | can average SOD pounds OF seed
cotton per acre, while on dirt farm ]
only made 500 pounds, half of which is
dog-tail On paper | can make litter
OF pigs dropped in March average 500
net in November, while that same lit
ter of pigs nurtured on dirt farm,
never fail to die with the cholera in
August.
When | farm on paper can put
down my expenses on one side and my
profits on the other, and if see my ex-
penses are likely to overrun my prof
its, / can rub out and begin anew but
when farm In the dirt my expenses
always get there first and rub out my
profits. When | farm on paper | can
always look neat and clean, keep my
hands white and tender, have my boots
BACKED, and eat at the first table when
my wife has city company; but when
farm in the dirt, have to wear big mud
boots and use the forks of the roads for
a bootjack, my hands chap and look as
rough as dogwood mauls, and have tC
hide out in the wood-shed until com.
pany leaves, and eat at the second
table.
During drouth or food, can put
my paper farm in cool place where i;
can draw moisture or keep dry, but 9
dirt farm has to stay cut doors and take
Its chances in all sorts OF weather. In
June lew years ago, the rains fell in
torrents on my cotton crop, washing Il
into utter confusion; morning glories
cow-itch vines, devils shoestrlngs, cral
grass and iux-tall became infatuated
with my cotton and eloped with it
v hen 1T got dry enough 10 work, hat
to plow up every other row OF my cot
ton TO get a place to put the grass, ant
then prop up my fence corners to al
VIII t cotton was lett.
To give you an idea OF how hard i
rained On my dirt farm. had forty
gallon barrell III the yard with head
out, and it actually rained in the bung
hole laster than IT could run out at bott
ends. Running through the plantation
was branch that always swept ava.
fences during flood, but OH that oc
casion it seemed to be in a hurry, an,
when it got to the lence it jumped
clear over it, without even wetting tn
top or bottom rail.
But after all, made big money on
of that crop. One day atown farme
came out to see me, and he advised m
to quit cotton and go into cattle. Th
idea seemed good one, because ever.
swag on the plantation was full G
water and grass knee high in all tn
fields, and all the surroundings pre-
ptious for the cattle business. | ha
at the time three sucking calves t
start with for seed, so I opened cottol
ridge, planted the calves in the iurrow
then threw two more burrows on them
blocked them off cotton style, and j
three weeks | had the finest stand {
young calves all over the place that til
eye Of man ever beheld. .-Tennesse
: Correspondent in Farmers Home Joul
; nal.